


Airplane Trails

by PipTheMagnificent



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Airplane Seatmates, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Meet-Cute, Mentioned DJWifi, Pepper Spray, Romance, crack elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23776348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PipTheMagnificent/pseuds/PipTheMagnificent
Summary: When Marinette and Adrien sit next to each other on the airplane, neither one expects to ever see the other again. But luck just may be on their side...
Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Comments: 61
Kudos: 176





	1. Welcome to Athens

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not having a good day. She hadn’t been having a good day when she forgot to set her alarm and woke up late, making it so she couldn’t get breakfast in the coffee shop on the corner. She hadn’t been having a good day when a horde of paparazzi blocked the entrance to the airport, searching for some wayward celebrity. She hadn’t been having a good day when after finally getting to the airport, security had decided to random check her. (Honestly, she was wearing pink joggers! Did that seem like a killer’s fashion of choice?) But she definitely wasn’t having a good day when her overstuffed carry-on decided it didn’t want to stay where she had shoved it in the overhead bin and began to fall out for the hundredth time.

  
She was debating just letting it crush her when an arm reached out and caught it before shoving it back in.

  
“Thanks,” she mumbled. She slid into her seat and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the window.

  
“No problem.”

  
The man who had helped her must have been her seatmate, because she felt him sit down next to her a second later. She debated thanking him again, but before she could decide to do so the day’s exhaustion caught up to her and she fell asleep before the plane even took off.

* * *

Three hours later, she was woken up by the commotion of the plane landing in Athens. Stunned into reality, Marinette groaned. Then she realized what she was using as a pillow.  
“Oh my god I’m so sorry!” She said to the man whose shoulder she had been sleeping on. And drooling on, apparently, she noticed. Why did she have to be cursed with bad luck? She not so subtly tried to wipe off his hoodie.

  
“It’s no big deal. Sleep well?” he said, smiling down at her. He had taken off his sunglasses during the flight. Wow, she thought. Why would someone with eyes as pretty as that even bother with sunglasses? They were a clear spring green, and they were currently scrunched in amusement at her failed attempts to clean off his hoodie.

  
Wait. She knew those eyes. She had only looked at them every day in her lycee years. The man she had unabashedly drooled on was none other than her middle school crush! To be honest, her crush even as a twenty-five-year-old. But who didn’t have a crush on Paris’s favorite supermodel and businessman? He had been voted Paris’s Sexiest Man in the 30 under 30 only last year, after all. Marinette knew that- she had voted for him!- so she wasn’t surprised when she immediately turned into a blubbering mess when confronted with his kind stare.

  
“Wow uh... ha… you look just like the pictures!” She blushed. Her face felt like it was on fire.

  
How stupid can you be? Of course he looks just like the pictures. That’s what pictures do!

  
Marinette realized she was staring at him with her mouth open. “Ah... sorry” she said, and grimaced. “I promise I’m not always this awkward.” What a lie. But he didn’t need to know that. They’d never see each other again, might as well make a good impression.

  
Adrien laughed. “Don’t worry about it; you’d be surprised at how many people start crying.”

  
Marinette smiled nervously. Her face was still bright red, but her heart was starting to calm down. It was probably a good thing that the pilot came over the intercom to have everyone start disembarking or she definitely would have said something else stupid. But Marinette was accomplished- not having to talk didn’t stop her from admiring Adrien. As they disembarked, she stared at the place where his hair met his neck and imagined running her fingers through his hair. Ahh, a girl could dream.

  
As soon as they made it to baggage claim her dreams disappeared. Adrien pulled on a baseball hat, moved his hood up, and brought out some huge sunglasses before grabbing his suitcase and disappearing into the crowd. Marinette blinked. She had always wondered why Adrien was never in the tabloids. He was slick- with that outfit he looked like anyone else, and only his mouth remained uncovered and recognizable. But really, who could identify Adrien by mouth alone? (Besides her, of course.)

  
Marinette grabbed her luggage and followed the crowds out to the taxi area. Pulling out her phone, she checked her email. The Greek branch of the boutique she worked for should have sent a taxi for her. She scanned the signs. Ah, there we go.

  
All remaining thoughts of her awkward encounter with Adrien were erased by her awe as they drove into Athens. The city seemed to stretch out forever. It was almost completely ringed by hills, and the part that wasn’t encircled melted into the sea. Even from outside the city, Marinette could see what she assumed to be the Acropolis.

  
While she was going to be busy in the mornings pulling together designs for a new spring/summer line, her evenings were thankfully free. This was going to be her first major trip away from home, and she was going to take full advantage of everything the company had made available. This trip could make or break the spread of the brand to other European countries, so they were sparing no expense, even flying her over first-class and booking a room in a five-star hotel.

  
Speaking of the hotel, her taxi driver announced they had arrived.

  
Woah.

  
Marinette couldn’t stop staring at everything around her as the driver grabbed her suitcase out for the doorman and they went inside. The drive-in entrance was giant, with marble stairs leading inside. Contrasting the modern appearance, a sign pointed out the small historic church the hotel was literally built around. Her car had pulled up right next to it, but Marinette hadn't had a chance to absorb it until she got out. Finally she headed inside to the check-in counter, where a sweet Greek man with an accent gave her her key, a map, and some tips about Athens.  
After chatting with him for a bit, she headed up to her room.

  
It was on the fifth floor, in a little offshoot of the hallway that contained only two rooms. It was supposed to have an amazing view, while also being quieter than other rooms due to its slightly separated nature.

  
Marinette stepped inside and her jaw dropped. The reviews hadn’t lied. Right ahead of her was a huge window that showed the Acropolis, partially concealed by gauzy curtains leading out to a tiny balcony. It looked barely big enough to stand on, but Marinette didn’t mind. To her left was a huge bathroom, with the nicest shower she’d ever seen. Was that a rain shower head? She’d have to check that out later. Stepping a little further into the room, she could see the king-sized bed that lay in the middle of the main bedroom area. In front of the bed was a tv. To one side of the tv, there was a desk, and to the other, a set of cabinets she guessed contained a mini-fridge and maybe the safe. Actually, as she looked to her right she saw she was wrong. The safe was in the closet, above a self where a plush robe and slippers were perched.

  
Oh yeah, she could get used to this.

* * *

In the room right next door, Adrien was thinking the same thing. This was the first modeling campaign his father had trusted him to go to on his own. Of course, Adrien didn’t exactly want to be going on modeling campaigns at all, but he had learned to take what he could get from his father.

  
And Athens! He’d never been before, but he’d heard good things. He seemed to remember Nino going with his long-time girlfriend Alya-Agh, no, fiancé now- a few months ago and loving the city. It was even possible he might get a lot of time to explore on this trip. The shoot didn’t start until tomorrow, and since it was a sunset and sunrise themed line, they would have limited time to shoot. He’d finally get some much needed time to himself to relax from the busy world of Paris fashion.

  
God knows he needed it, especially after Lila and Chloe had thrown themselves at him during the final dinner party before he left. He shuddered, shadow pains of Lila’s wandering hands making his want to gag. Really, you’d think his father would have done something to stop it. He never seemed to care, however, only talking to Adrien if he felt he was going to “ruin the brand.”

  
Adrien flopped on the bed and flipped through the room service menu. Nothing caught his eye, although he did mentally bookmark the chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast before the sunrise shoots. Oh yeah, he definitely wasn’t looking forward to those. But hey, maybe this was a chance to become more independent. A real cosmopolitan, unafraid to traverse the city on his own.

  
He pulled out his phone and started up Tripadvisor. Hopefully he’d find something good.

* * *

Out in the hall, a door closed softly as Marinette left her room. She had showered to get rid of that awful plane feeling, and changed into nicer clothes to go out and explore before grabbing dinner. Alya, who had been to Athens with Nino, had recommended a cute place, one of her long list of recommendations. Not surprising, coming from a blogger. It looked good, and was a thirty-minute walk away, so she’d be able to get a feel for the city. Plus, she could use the walk, considering she’d been sitting for hours on the plane.

  
Making her way into the city center, she marveled at the culture around her. There was a heady scent of coffee and fresh bread in the air, from the vendors who popped up every five meters. They sold everything one could ever wish for. Coffee? You got it. Koulouri? Step right up. Fresh mango? Absolutely. As she wandered, the soundtrack of streets called to her. Street artists and performers abounded, playing everything from classical to rap. With so many styles of music, she’d expect it to clash, but it just seemed to elevate each separate piece into something bigger and better. The music was perfectly matched to the city it represented. The further Marinette wandered, the more Athens surprised her. Turn the corner and there was an ancient temple in the middle of a small fenced-in field. Turn again and see a bombed-out husk of a building with graffiti all over it. And just when you wondered if you were accidentally walking in between centuries, there was a sleek modern building to remind you of where- no, when- you were.

  
It was enthralling.

  
And truly, there was no other word for it. Marinette didn’t want to close her eyes.

  
But all too soon, the sun was going down. It was starting to get cold, Marinette noticed as she pulled on the light jacket she had luckily brought with her from the hotel room. I should probably find my way to that restaurant.

  
Two hours later (she may have gotten a little lost on the way there, and Greek dinners take a while), Marinette was sitting at a table in the restaurant, debating over what to order for dessert. Everything just sounded so good, and if it was anything like the dinner she’d had, she’d be willing to bet everything was good. Finally, she decided to go with the chocolate cremeux.  
Her instincts had been good. The chocolate cremeux was delicious, rivaling the Dupain-Cheng macarons. But while her tastebuds were pleased, her mind was not. Stuck with no one to talk to during dinner, she had taken to reading the travel guide she had stuck in her bag.

  
Bad idea, Marinette, she chided herself. She may have gotten information on the best shops and sites to visit, but she had lost her peace of mind. Apparently, the restaurant she was eating at was in Exarchia. Exarchia being the hotbed for anarchists, illegal immigrants and drug dealers in Athens.

  
Lovely. Just lovely. A short, small young woman walking back to her hotel alone late at night. She'd be lucky if she was found alive! The last twenty or so minutes of the walk back would take her through busy streets, but she’d have to make it through the first few blocks. Marinette didn’t see herself as religious, but as she paid for dinner, she found herself begging God to make it back without getting mugged.

  
She put on her jacket, shrugged her bag onto her shoulder, and started off, with her heartbeat beating in her head.

* * *

Two hours earlier…

Adrien flopped back onto the bed. TripAdvisor was not working out, but he wasn’t all that hungry. He supposed he could go out, but he had a headache from the long day and he wasn’t feeling like walking all around. He’d showered already, and unpacked his essentials, so there wasn’t anything left to do.

  
I mean, there is that paperwork…  
On second thought, he very desperately needed to call Nino right that very moment.

  
The phone rang for a second before he picked up.

  
“Nino!”

  
“Hey dude! What’s up!” Nino waved at him from his side of the screen. “How’s Athens treating you?”

  
Adrien laughed. “Good, good. I just got here, so nothing much to report. The only thing I’ve seen so far is the inside of my hotel room.”

  
Another voice came over the screen. “Tour! Tour! Tour!” someone he assumed to be Alya chanted. Nino angled his laptop to the side and Adrien saw he was right. Alya was lounging on the couch next to Nino.

  
“Hey Alya! Good to see you!”

  
She laughed and waved. “You too, but enough with the chit-chat! I want a tour. I have another friend in Greece right now, in the same hotel, and she couldn’t stop raving about the room. But she’s actually cool and went out to explore the town, so I couldn’t get a tour of hers.”

  
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “I'm going to go out, I just wanted to say hi before I go out and party.” Alya scoffed and Nino smirked. They knew him too well. “Okay whatever. Room tour, coming up!”

  
He showed them all the cool aspects of the room, and they oohed at the appropriate moments.

  
It was just a room, however, and soon he was out of things to show. When he tried to show them the view from the balcony for the third time, Nino cut him off.

  
“Dude, I know you don’t love the room that much. Stop using us as an excuse to not go out and do something fun. Plus, as much as I love you, someone I love more-“ he looked over at Alya accusingly “is getting a little antsy over here and I’m sure you don’t want to hear that. Go grab dinner. The time difference alone means you must be starving, it’s an hour after you normally eat here, plus I’m betting the airplane food wasn’t great.”

  
“Room service…” he started weakly before Alya cut him off.

  
“You’re in Athens and you’re young. Live a little. Here, I’ll even give you a pro tip- Ama Lachei.”

  
“Ama hearing you right?” They both groaned at his extraordinarily bad pun.

  
“No, it’s a restaurant. A good one too. We ate there on our last day, and if we’d known about it sooner we’d have gone every day.”

  
“Yeah man,” Nino chimed in. “It was really good. And I’m engaged to the daughter of the head chef at Le Grande Paris.”

  
Adrien sighed. He didn’t want to hang up, talking to them had made him feel homesick, but he supposed he should go get dinner.

  
“Fine. I’ll talk to you later, you bullies.”

  
“Bye!” they chorused before hanging up abruptly.

  
An hour and forty-five minutes later, Adrien was thanking Nino and Alya with all of his heart. This place was amazing. He was stuffed to the brim! He had to say, while this may not have been his plan for the evening, he didn’t regret it one bit. He’d had a great meal and a heavy dose of people watching to go with it.

  
Now, walking back to the hotel, he was happy and full. Yeah, the area looked a little sketchy, and the only person he could see was a woman a few meters in front of him, but he liked graffiti art and he was secure in the knowledge that he had years of fencing and tai chi on his side to take anyone out. Not that he thought he’d have to, but it was always nice to have the option.  
Yeah, this was the life.

* * *

Yeah, she was about to die.

  
This guy had been following her ever since she left the restaurant. She couldn’t tell what he looked like, because how smart would it be to turn around and stare at someone who was following you, but from small glances she could tell he was tall and looked well built.

  
Oh god this was it. She was going to die.

  
Why was he approaching her?! Her breathing picked up and her heart was beating out of her chest. A block ago she had pretended to pull her phone out of her bag to grab her pepper spray, and she was ready to use it.

  
He grabbed her shoulder.

  
She turned around and promptly sprayed him in the face before kicking him in the leg.

  
“Agh!!” He yelped.

  
“I’ll have you arrested you... you freak! I know the daughter of a policeman!”

  
Well, it was kind of true. She used to know the daughter of a policeman, even if that was years ago and in Paris, for that matter.

  
“Stop…” the man groaned in French.

  
Wait… why would a Greek serial killer speak French? And was that bit of blue in his hand her scarf? She checked her bag. Yup, it must have fallen out when she took out the pepper spray.

  
Oh no.

  
Marinette kicked him again, just in case, before going to look at his face and shining her phone flashlight on him.

  
Oh. My. God. She had just pepper-sprayed Adrien Agreste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! So this is the first chapter of my highly self-indulgent fic. It's my first chapter ever posted, so I hope you liked it. If you see any typos, let me know so I can correct them. Next chapter should be out next week. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!
> 
> Also, if you were wondering- yes, all the places that have been/will be described in this are real. I took heavy inspiration from my recent trip to Athens, and if anyone is planning to go-after our world has gone back to normal- I highly suggest any of these hotels/restaurants/shops/sites.
> 
> Edit: I finally got a Tumblr! Find me [here!](https://pipthemagnificentwrites.tumblr.com)


	2. Grumpy Cat

Christos wasn’t sure what to expect when he pulled up to the small bar. After all, the sort of people who frequented Exarchia at night weren’t exactly the normal clientele he got in his Uber. However, the pair that climbed into his car a moment later was definitely not what he expected. “So… where to?” he asked as he wondered how in the world the tiny woman and oddly red-eyed man had ended up in Exarchia, obviously drunk, and in the middle of the night.

* * *

“Oh my god!” Marinette cringed at the realization of what she’d just done.

Adrien's eyes were tightly shut and tears were leaking out of the corners. What did someone do to treat pepper spray? She’d never had to use it before, and even if she had had to, she wouldn’t usually have been trying to help her attacker. She grabbed her phone and did a quick search. Milk? Didn’t have that. Water? Thankfully yes, she had a bottle in her bag.

She grabbed it, uncapped it, and promptly poured it on Adrien’s eyes.

“Mmph stop-” he spit out some water. “Please.”

“I’m so sorry! I thought you were going to mug me and then I freaked out and you just seemed so threatening-“

Adrien cut off her rambling. “My eyes are burning. Please, can we just get to somewhere we can wash them out? I can’t see or even open my eyes.”

Marinette flushed, ashamed. “You’re going to have to help me.”

Marinette mentally smacked herself. Pull yourself together, she thought. He’s basically blind and he needs you to not be so scatterbrained for five minutes. She racked her brain for somewhere to go, and remembered the street a few blocks away with a few tiny bars clustered together. With Adrien clinging to her, they made it to one of the bars with only a few falls and collisions with lampposts. Impressive for someone who can’t even jump rope without knocking herself out.

Once inside, Marinette used Google Translate, her limited Greek vocabulary, and some possibly highly offensive hand gestures to try and communicate to the bartender their urgent need for a bathroom and some soap. Luckily, the bartender, who after watching her performance for a few minutes, revealed he spoke great English- a language they both shared- and gave them access. Along with his name- Theo- and his number- which Marinette promptly shoved in the bottom of her bag and forgot about.

He led them to the bathroom in the small upstairs apartment and left the two pitiful figures to clean up.

* * *

Adrien felt like a wet cat. He had been sitting under the running bath for what felt like hours and his situation hadn’t improved. His eyes were running and burning, and now to make things even worse, his shirt was soaking and his back and elbows hurt from his uncomfortable position. The girl who had so viciously attacked him was dithering all over him. He didn’t think she had stopped talking since the water started running. He was sure she meant well, and she sounded truly sorry, but it was hard to ‘forgive and forget’ when your eyes were burning like the fires of hell.

“Alya would kill me if she found this out” she muttered to herself as she used a slightly soapy wet towel to clean his eyes.

Adrien spluttered as the soap got in his mouth. She took it as an invitation to keep going.

“Alya’s my best friend. She teases me enough already, she’d crucify me if she knew I pepper sprayed ADRIEN AGRESTE!” “And after drooling on him too,” she added under her breath. She was hoping he wouldn’t connect the dots between the girl who drooled on him and the one who pepper-sprayed gum.

Adrien blew the soapy water droplets away from his mouth and tried to distract himself from the pain by talking. “Yeah, I have an Alya too. Actually, a double threat- she’s engaged to my friend Nino and together they are truly dangerous. Use more soap, I think it’s starting to feel better.”

“Wait… Nino? My friend is engaged to Nino. Cesaire and Lahiffe?”

Adrien recoiled in shock. What were the chances?! “Yes actually! Wow, wait till they hear this one. What’s your name, maybe I’ve heard of you.”

“Marinette. Marinette Duoain-Cheng.”

A dim flicker of recognition. “The designer?”

Marinette blushed, although he couldn’t see. “The very same,” she said, and took an exaggerated bow. And promptly smacking her head into the bathtub handle.

“Ouch.” Adrien flinched at the noise and reflexively opened his eyes, getting a quick glimpse of blue and black before his eyes closed due to the stinging. Wait, actually, it didn’t sting that badly anymore. “Pass me a towel?”

He held his hands out waiting to feel the rough threads in his hands, and used it to wipe his dripping face. Cracking his eyes open, he saw that the burning was mostly gone, replaced by a slight stinging sensation and tearing up. Blinking a few times and dabbing with the towel, he found it much improved.

“I think I’m good now,” he offered to the girl, who he could now see through a film of watering eyes. “Or as good as it’ll get without time.”

“That makes sense- Google said 30-45 minutes, and I did it for 50. Can you see?”

He looked around experimentally. The lined wallpaper had some waviness to it, and he couldn’t stop blinking every second or two, but he could open his eyes.

He turned back to the girl. “Yup. Much better… wait.” He recognizes those eyes. “I know you.”

He racked his brain. “Airplane girl!”

She flushed. “Yeah. Sorry again. I really don’t have a good track record. Drool and now pepper spray…” she faded off awkwardly.

Now that he could see and he wasn’t crouched in a tiny tub anymore, Adrien was in a much better mood. He laughed. “Well, at least it’ll be a great story to tell Nino and Alya. Imagine?! Nino’s been trying to get me to meet you so we could all hang out for ages. It’s all Marinette this, Marinette that. We can finally say we can beat them at their own game!”

A slow smile spread over Marinette’s face. A slightly evil smile. “I like the sound of that.”

“How about we discuss our plans over some ouzo downstairs? I’ll call an Uber but it’ll probably be at least half an hour, we might as well kill time somehow.” He checked his watch. Eeesh, that was going to hurt in the morning. Too late now. He hoped the Uber came soon.

* * *

Seven shots of ouzo each later, they were both giggling messes.

Adrien slumped his face into his hands and looked up at Marinette pleadingly.

“Why’d you pepper spray me? I’m innocent! I’m a human cinnamon roll!”

Marinette couldn’t quite see straight, but in her drunken state Adrien looked exactly like the pictures of Grumpy Cat. Ha. He was a grumpy cat.

“Miaow.”

“What?”

“Nothing silly kitty.” Marinette laughed. “And you didn’t look innocent out on the streets.”

Adrien frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You were wearing all black!”

“I wanted to look cool!”

Marinette burst out laughing. “Adrien, you were just explaining to me the sub vs dub argument. You could never be cool. You wish you could be cool.”

“I’m a model! Girls hang my advertisements all over their walls. The underwear campaign I did for Gabriel Intimates broke the internet.”

“Trust me, I know.” Marinette laughed.

Adrien lifted his head. “Wait a minute.” Marinette shrunk back as he leaned forward, so close their noses almost brushed. He narrowed his eyes. “Did you hang my underwear campaign on your wall?”

“NO!” Marinette spluttered. “... yes.”

“Ha! I knew it!” Adrien leaned back. “You pervert. You leered over my nudes!”

Marinette groaned. Her face was burning “They were not nudes. You were clothed.”

“Barely.” he sniggers.

“Whatever! This conversation is over.”

“Oh yeah? Who decided that?” His phone buzzed. “The Uber,” she says, pointing to her screen. They're both off-balance as they leave the small table and headed outside. Theo waved goodbye, looking happy to see them go. Considering how many times they had forced the jukebox to play “Come on Eileen” while dancing along, Marinette doubts he’s going to miss them. She’s surprised he didn’t ask for his number back.

Adrien follows her into the backseat and slumps against her, taking up the whole seat. Not fair. She wants to lie down too but he’s gigantic and she doesn’t make it past his neck standing on her toes. This really is a problem, she thinks, and her designer brain kicks in, gifting her with an image of spring high heels. She giggles to herself, missing what the driver says entirely. Adrien has to prod her before she starts paying attention.

“Sorry?” The driver responds with practiced English. He probably gets a lot of tourists, she thinks.

“Which hotel Miss?”

“Electra Metropolis.”

Adrien gasps adorably. “Me too!”

“It’s so nice right? Like a palace!” Marinette looks around suspiciously. “Don’t tell anyone but I stole the soaps. Alllllll of them.”

“Youuu are nice like a palace,” Adrien drawls, and boops her on the nose before falling back against the seat.

“If I’m the palace then you must be the castle.” Wait, no that doesn’t make sense. A palace is a castle- right? Marinette decides not to think anymore, and tilts her head against the cool glass of the window to watch the lights of the city flash by.

* * *

There is a dance class going on inside her head, and it’s most definitely tap.

Marinette reluctantly opened her eyes. She squinted off to her side, flailing a hand to hit the alarm she had set last night. Last night… LAST NIGHT!

Marinette’s head was pounding, and the memories flooding back didn’t help. Oh god. Marinette rolled over and smashed her face into the pillow. Did she really attack Adrien? And then get hammered with him? Why was this her life? When she had imagined meeting Adrien Agreste, it certainly didn’t involve drool, pepper spray, and shots- more along the coffee, flowers, and love at first sight route.

When Marinette finally forced herself out of bed and made it to the breakfast on the top floor of the hotel (although not without tiptoeing past Adrien’s room, remembering with a cringe how funny they had found it that they were neighbors), she was again confronted with memories of the night before. The hostess at the door, after hearing her name and room, reached into her drawer and pulled out the blue scarf Marinette had dropped the night before, saying she had been told to give this to her from a young man. Marinette turned red, took the package, and went off to find a table, but not before seeing the wink the woman gave her.

She left the scarf on the table while she grabbed food from the huge spread. Everything was delicious, and the view of the Acropolis was stunning. After a coffee, things were starting to look up. After all, she hadn’t really ruined her life last night. Adrien had warmed up to her while they were at the bar, and they had actually had a nice time talking. Plus, she remembered talking about plans to get together with Nino and Alya sometime when they got back to Paris. Maybe she could get Alya to follow through on these when they got back, so she could make a good first impression.

Well, that was a problem for the future Marinette. Right now, she could just enjoy Greece. She had two meetings, one a brainstorming session, and another a coffee meeting with the branch designer she’d be working with on the new line, but after three she was a free bird. Maybe today was the day to go see the Acropolis. Or oooh, go check out the sandal shop in the market she had stumbled across yesterday.

Thrilled with the possibilities, Marinette grabbed up her scarf and started to stand up when a piece of paper slid out of the folds of the scarf. Bending over, she picked it up and sat back down. It was written on hotel stationery in neat handwriting.

Marinette~

I realized this morning I hadn’t given back this troublesome scarf, so I thought I’d leave it here. (Here he included a kitty winking doodle) Hope you are still good for our dining plans! Here’s my number, text me and we can figure out where/when!

~Adrien

Marinette choked. Her day had just gotten a lot less relaxed.

* * *

Adrien felt relaxed for the first time in a very long time.

The first day of shooting had gone well, although he had been plagued with a headache until his assistant grabbed some Advil for him. Thankfully, the Advil set in while he was still getting hair and makeup done, so by the time he had to pose, he was feeling fine.

It was actually one of the more exciting shoots he had done. They didn’t have permission to shoot up on top of the Acropolis, but they were given access to the hill it was built on and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an ancient Greek theater that the Acropolis looked down on. The views of the white marble bathed in pink sunlight was something he didn’t think he could ever forget.

Adrien cycled easily through the clothes, a blend of tight-fitting suits, laid-back short and shirt combinations, and loose toga-inspired outfits. The handful of other models there were nice enough, and didn’t show any of the outward resentment that was often aimed at him for the supposed ‘favoritism’ he got as Gabriel Agreste’s son. Soon enough, the shoot ended and they were released, with reminders to return at 6:30 that evening for the sunset.

Adrien grabbed the cab someone had sent for him and was back at the hotel in no time. He made it up to his room, glancing at Mari’s room and wondering if she had gotten his note. Realizing it was still only eight in the morning, and she definitely wasn’t even up yet, he entered the room and took a quick shower to wash off the makeup and dust before climbing into bed and falling asleep.

Three hours later he was woken up by the buzzing of his phone next to him. He stretched out and grabbed it.

Unknown Contact: Hey! It’s Marinette! I would love to meet you- really anytime after 1 works for me.

As he was reading it, more texts came in.

Unless you’re busy

Actually, I read your note, I know you’re not haha

Not like I’m accusing you of not wanting to meet me

But if you don’t that's fine! I’m not forcing you

I’d be fine if you did want to tho

Not fine, happy

Adrien grinned. She was funny even over text. He thought for a second and then typed back:

hey mari! i totally still do. i can do anytime for lunch, and dinner is good anytime after 8

He was glad she was still happy to do their arrangement from last night. They had gotten along really well after that whole pepper-spray issue got out of the way, and he was sure that they’d have just as much fun in the coming days.

* * *

Last night:

“Why were you walking here late at night anyway?” Marinette asked.

“I was talking to Alya and Nino and they recommended this great place for dinner. I figured I would check it out.”

She gasped. “Omigosh me too! Was it the same place? Ama Lakey?”

She had freckles, Adrien noticed again. He had seen them on the plane. He wondered what shape they’d make if he played connect the dots.

“Ama Lachey? Ama Lockey? Ama Loch Ness?” Marinette kept guessing at the name, getting further and further away, and cracking herself up with each successive try.

“Ama Lachei?”

“That! Wasn’t it so good?”

“Yeah! The pork ribs were amazing… ”

Marinette laughed at him. “Careful, Grumpy Cat. You’re drooling.”

“Grumpy Cat?”

She blushed, having forgotten she had called him that in her head. “When you get mad you look like the Grumpy Cat picture. And you are kind of like a cat,” she continued. “You wore all black and it brought you bad luck.”

“Bad luck? Even if I were a black cat, I would be good. I would be such a good cat! Look at how well I can purr.”

He let out some sort of strangled half-cough, half-wheeze noise. Marinette laughed so hard she started gasping for air. Adrien pouted again. He thought he had done well! What was wrong with his purr?

Marinette looked up again and started laughing even harder. “See! Grumpy Cat!”

“Whatever…” he sulked. “I should go sit at a different table.”

“No, stay. I’m so awkward when I have to eat alone. I never know what to do with myself. I literally read my guidebook at dinner tonight because I didn’t know what to do.”

“Me too!”

“You read your guidebook?”

“No, I kind of just stared at my food a lot. I meant I also hate eating alone. And I don’t know anyone in the city so it’s not like Paris, where I can just call Nino up.”

“Same. It is definitely an issue.”

“Wait.” Adrien smiled smugly. “I have solved our problems.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Really? Tell me, o cat lord, how you have fixed my awkwardness.”

“Well, that I can’t fix.” She smacked his arm. “Ouch! No, I said I didn’t know anyone. But that’s not true. I know someone now.”

“Who?”

“You! We can eat together! Plus, we both speak French, so I don’t have to struggle with English!”

Marinette blinked.

Adrien paused. “Okay, I guess not. I’ll just go back to being a lonely kitten. Memory… all alone in the moonlight…” he sang.

“Stop, not Cats!” She cringed. “No it sounds fun, but don’t you have people to meet? And I have a dinner meeting one day.”

Oh. Good. So she was open to it. “That’s okay! We can just do it whenever we are both free. I’m alone every day, so I would love to have you with me. The only people I am going to see are the other models and the crew, but that’s only at the shoots.”

Well, now he sounded lonely, but it was true. He really didn’t have anyone to eat with, and he hated eating alone.

“So- do you want to? Whenever you can't, that's fine, but I would really love some company.”

Marinette shrugged, although Adrien noticed she looked a little flushed. The restaurant was hot, he was sure that was it. “Sure, I’d like to. That sounds fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being super long, so I'm splitting it into two parts. The next part will be here soon, and will be the two of them exploring the city together.
> 
> If anyone's interested, the fashion lines I was looking at to gain inspiration for the Gabriel shoot are the Versace spring/summer 2015 lineup and the Dolce and Gabbana spring/summer 2014 lineup.
> 
> I always appreciate comments and kudos, and if you see any mistakes please let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr! Find me [here!](https://pipthemagnificentwrites.tumblr.com)


	3. It's All Greek to Me!

Marinette was not prepared for this, she thought as she stood in front of the mirror staring at herself.

“You got this,” she said to herself again, like a mantra. “It’s only Adrien. You talked to him without freaking out. It’s lunch. Not a big deal.”

Her reflection stared back at her judgmentally.

“You’re not helping.”

Her reflection didn’t decide to be any more helpful, and right at that moment another person walked into the bathroom, looking at her strangely as they realized Marinette had been talking to herself. So yeah, Marinette guessed her confidence wasn’t going to hang around for long.

She took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom into the design studio where she had been working all morning. The line was coming along nicely, and Marinette liked everyone she was partnering with.

As she was leaving she ran into Stefanie, the designer she’d had the coffee meeting with earlier.

“Marinette! Do you have a minute to talk about the line? Maybe we can grab lunch together.”

Internally Marinette groaned. Stef was really nice, and she would have loved to go any other time, but she was already running late to meet Adrien.

“Stef, I’m so sorry, but I’m actually meeting someone else for lunch. Can we chat after?”

Stef smirked. “Hot date?”

Marinette flushed. “Not a date- just a friendly get together.”

Stef pressed her lips together to hold in a laugh. “Which is why you were in the bathroom for an hour cleaning yourself up?”

Damn, she should have known Stef would notice. They’d only met in person this morning, but already Marinette saw she was all too much like Alya in that respect.

“I just wanted to freshen up a little, not look like I had two hours of sleep last night in front of my friend.”

“Oh yeah, I always put on that much makeup and wear a cute dress when going to see a friend. Totally normal.”

“Stop” Marinette rolled her eyes. “We’re not like that. I literally only met him yesterday, we have mutual friends.”

“Sure, whatever you say. Go have fun. You can tell me about your date later.” Stef walked off with a backwards wave and a wink, leaving Marinette flustered.

“It’s not a date-” she started to call out, but Stef was already gone. She really was too similar to Alya.

As Marinette began the walk to the restaurant they were planning to meet at, she worried over Stef’s words. She didn’t look too datelike, she hoped. After reading Adrien’s note that morning, maybe she had gone and changed into a cuter outfit, but then why not? He was a model, he was sure to look nice. Marinette just wanted to not underdress. And maybe the blue sundress she had chosen was a little tighter and shorter than her normal clothes, but it was a hot day, she wanted to stay cool.

Marinette debated with herself her state of dress and tried to convince herself she wasn’t totally in love with Adrien all the way to SMAK, the restaurant she had picked from Alya’s list, but as soon as she got there, she knew it was useless.

She may have dressed a bit sexier than normal today (she had finally admitted it to herself), but she couldn’t even compare to Adrien. One look at him and she couldn’t even lie to herself about her attraction to him anymore.

He was wearing a white button down that was slightly unbuttoned and had rolled the sleeves up to just below his elbows. Mmmm- Marinette was almost drooling- those arms did something to her. His perfectly fitted jeans didn’t help the situation, and neither did his effortlessly ruffled hair.

Damn, the man was attractive.

* * *

Wow, she was adorable.

Adrien stood up and waved as she got closer.

She looked great, like the fashion designer he knew her to be. She wore a light blue sundress that was cut in a flattering skater style, and had accessorized with aviators and white Converse. Looking closer, Adrien saw small flowers embroidered around the Converse logo. It wouldn’t surprise him if she had done it herself.

She sat down at the small table near the window Adrien had grabbed.

“Hey!”

“Hi,” Adrien responded. “Good to see you again, without some incident happening.”

Why would he bring that up? Adrien wanted to facepalm. Idiot.

Marinette giggled, but looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah… guess I broke my streak.”

As she was saying it, a small ladybug drifted by and landed on the sunglasses she had left on the table.

Adrien smiled. “Look at that, you’ve been blessed. The ladybug gave you the gift of luck.”

“I don’t know about that.” Marinette laughed. “I’m still so clumsy. On the way here, I accidentally knocked into a stand at one of those touristy shops and knocked a bunch of stuff over. I had to buy a few things to keep them happy.”

“I don’t take it back. You knocking into that stand just gave you the opportunity to buy things without looking like a total tourist. I say you’re still lucky.”

“Ahh, you say that but you don’t know what the stand held.”

Okay, he’d take the bait.

“What?”

Marinette leaned in and cupped her hands to his ear.

“Those painted penis keychains.”

Adrien flushed bright red.

Marinette couldn’t help laughing at his silly expression.

“Yeah, I know. I was planning to buy one for Alya anyway, but now I have like ten in my bag.”

“That’s actually really funny,” Adrien said, having recovered from the shock of having her whisper penis in his ear.

“Want one?”

And nope, he was red again.

The penis keychain was quite the icebreaker, and soon they were talking up a storm over their food. They had both decided to try the peynirli, a traditional Greek pizza, with Adrien getting the chicken and Marinette the Mediterranean. Of course, Adrien was curious about the food, so they swapped bites of their separate peynirli.

After eating, they paid separately and headed outside to grab ice cream from the gelato store Marinette had passed earlier. Taking their gelati with them, they walked around the market for a bit, exploring the little side streets and marveling at the piles of items the vendors had.

But as their gelati melted away, so did their time, and Marinette left to go back to work, leaving Adrien with a wave goodbye and a promise to meet him outside her office to walk to dinner.

* * *

Marinette had no idea how she had managed to remain so calm during the whole not-date, but she was certainly making up for it now.

She had walked back to her office floating on air. They’d had lunch, and it was perfect, and she hadn’t freaked out. And soon dinner!

Stef had taken one look at her starry eyes and dragged her into the office, plopped her on a chair, and said “Spill.”

Marinette, while reluctant to talk earlier, unsure how it would go when Adrien and her weren’t either drunk or stuck in a small space together for hours, was all too ready to talk now.

“Emma, Louis, and Hugo.”

Stef looked confused. “You were on a date with three people?”

Marinette smiled dreamily. “First off, not a date-”

“But you want it to be?”

“I would love it, considering that Emma, Louis, and Hugo are our future kids’ names”

“I’m assuming this was fully a you decision, no input from the future father?” Stef laughed.

“Sadly, no.” Marinette groaned. “He’s oblivious, I swear. He ended our not-date by saying ‘Wow Marinette, I’m so glad we ran into each other yesterday. You’re such a good friend.’”

Stef inhaled sharply. “That’s a killer. What are you going to do?”

“Be a good friend?” Marinette mumbled.

“Oh sweetie…”

“It’s fine. I like hanging out with him, and I can keep my feelings in check. And he’s absolutely blind to flirting so it’s not going to be hard at all. f I can just ignore my crush I think we can be really good friends. Plus, I really do need someone to eat with, I am so awkward when I’m alone. ”

“Okay, if you’re sure. I’m always here too if you need me! I like you, and it would be nice to talk to you more outside of the office and long-distance video calls.”

“I know,” Marinette smiled. “Should we get back to work now?”

“Mood killer,” Stef grumbled.

* * *

Athens was gorgeous. Adrien had been walking around and exploring for a few hours and he was having a great time.

He’d decided to save seeing the Acropolis for another day, but he had spent a few hours in the ruins of Hadrian’s Library and Kerameikos Cemetery. It was a bright and sunny day, and he could feel himself getting a little pink, but it was worth it.

He examined every stone in Hadrian’s Library, and was awestruck at the mosaics and huge columns. But when he entered Kerameikos Cemetery, he immediately fell in love with it.

It may be strange, as it was an ancient cemetery, but Adrien felt more alive there than he had anywhere else in Athens. There were no stoic security guards here, no stuffy velvet ropes and do not touch signs in fifty languages. There were just the stone monuments, trees, and bushes against the bright blue backdrop of the sky. Visitors were allowed to roam free and encouraged to get up close to the monuments, some upright and others collapsing, partially buried under hills of grass built up over the years.

Adrien took full advantage of this, clambering around all the corners of the cemetery. He stayed for longer than he had meant to, entranced by the long forgotten beauty of the ruins.

While his inner history buff was thrilled, his assistant was not. He was making his way slowly to the exit when his phone rang.

He picked up with a practiced “Hey!”

“Hey!” shrieked the voice of his assistant Georgiana. “Hey?! Adrien where are you? You were supposed to meet us at the hotel fifteen minutes ago. Late to another shoot,” she moaned. “Will you ever learn?”

“Wait, G, what are you talking about? I’m not late! You said meet at 6! I’ve been exploring the cemetery in the meantime.”

He put her on speaker phone so he could check his texts as he walked, although he immediately regretted it as she screamed a shout of pure rage.

The kind worker at the gate stared at him, probably wondering if his phone was possessed. He shot her a smile and continued walking, used to Georgiana’s rage.

Georgiana kept screaming at him as he paled in horror. He hadn’t seen her multiple warning texts of the change in time because he’d had spotty reception in the cemetery.

“G,” he interrupted. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t get them. I’m coming back right now.”

He heard a huff from the other side of the phone.

“I’ve already sent a car for you. Just get here quickly so the makeup artists can work their magic. We’re very limited in time, we can’t have this happen again Adrien.”

Adrien let out a small sigh of relief. Georgiana may be a bit over the top in her dramatics, but she was good at what she did and she always calmed down quickly after getting to scream for a minute.

“Thanks G, you’re the best.”

“I expect a raise.”

Adrien laughed. “Talk to my father.”

“Yeah yeah. I’ll take you just showing up on time for once.” She hung up.

Adrien smiled. She exaggerated, he was usually on time. Well, he admitted to himself, when he got out of the mansion and Nathalie was no longer on top of him, he did like to take his time, but who could blame him? A little freedom and flexibility wasn’t a bad thing.

* * *

Marinette grabbed her purse off her makeshift desk and her sweater off the chair before waving goodbye to everyone for the night. It was around 8:30, and she was set to meet Adrien downstairs so they could walk to dinner.

She honestly couldn’t believe she was doing that. To be friends with Adrien was like something out of a dream. Sure, Alya had always said he was just a geeky boy on the inside, but Marinette couldn’t mesh the two images together- supermodel Adrien with a Banana Fish loving weeb? But now that she had gotten to know him a little, she liked this version better than that perfect doll.

The Adrien she has pepper sprayed was sweet. He was genuine, funny, kind, and okay, still really hot. If Marinette was in love before, she was absolutely screwed now that she knew this Adrien.

But she was trying to contain herself. They could just be friends. And although she was still attracted to him, she wanted to be his friend more than she wanted to lose that friendship because she couldn’t deal with a crush.

And there that crush was, standing in front of the glass doors to the studio with his hands in his pockets, studying their display.

“Hey,” Marinette said as she opened the door.

He rocked back on his heels. “Hey! How was your day?”

“Good, what about you?”

His eyes lit up. “Amazing! I was a little bit late to my shoot, but it ended up being fine and it was totally worth it because oh my god I found this amazing ancient cemetery right in the center of town.”

They talked about their experiences of Athens all the way to the restaurant, a small family-owned place called Evgenia’s right by their hotel. By the time they reached the restaurant, Adrien had extracted a promise from Marinette to take her to the acropolis and give her the full historical tour.

The conversation flowed along with the wine, and Marinette, unsurprisingly, was having an amazing time. She was eating great food, with a cute guy, in a foreign city. How did she get so lucky?

Maybe Adrien was right and the ladybug at lunch really did bless her.

Of course, that didn’t mean all of her troubles went away. She was still awkward- which unfortunately was tested at the end of dinner.

They were finishing off a walnut cake and a honey baklava when an older woman hobbled out of the kitchen and came over to their table.

“You like my food?” She asked in broken English. “You eat like you like it.” She pinched Adrien’s cheek. “Too skinny.” Staring accusingly at Marinette, she followed it with “tell your wife she need to make more good food. Like a little stick! Listen to Evgenia, I always make good food for Nikos, and we stay marry for years. Food make love strong.”

Marinette was bright red. Adrien didn’t look much better, but he managed to cough out a “Sorry, we’re actually not together.”

The old woman simply harrumphed. “You will be soon- I see you look good together. Evgenia is never wrong.”

The waitress saw them and came over quickly, making apologetic eyes at Adrien and Marinette behind the woman’s back.

“Yaya Evgenia, come on, let’s go back to the kitchen.” She then said something in Greek, and the woman threw up her hands and rushed back to the kitchen.

“Sorry,” she said. “My grandmother is very old and does not always know what is polite.”

“It’s okay,” Marinette stuttered out. “What did you say to make her storm off like that?”

The waitress laughed. “I said the cook tried to change her recipe. She’s very protective of her food. Speaking of, how was your meal? I hope you enjoyed it.”

They expressed how much they loved it before paying and leaving, both still a little red.

Walking back, neither of them wanted to end their night. It was still early for Greece, only around 10:30, so the streets were lively.

Marinette didn’t want to go inside- the night had been so much fun and she wasn’t ready for it to be over.

She turned to Adrien as they walked around the corner.

“It’s your turn to pick, so I’ll text you the list and you can pick.” She hesitated, then smiled. “I had a lot of fun tonight. I’m really glad we ran into each other that night.” She started to head inside, expecting him to follow her in.

Was it just her imagination, or did Adrien look disappointed that she was heading inside?

“Wait!”

* * *

Why had he just said that? Adrien had no idea what he had stopped her for, he just didn’t want to go back to his empty hotel room yet. Being with Marinette felt comfortable for reasons he didn’t quite understand yet. She was sweet, pretty, and so funny. Plus, they could speak French with each other. It was like being at home.

Maybe that’s why he was always looking forward to spending time with her. She was a familiar language in a foreign city, and although he hadn’t known her in Paris, Nino had, and with all his stories of her, he almost felt like he had been friends with her forever.

She was staring at him, and he realized he hadn’t said anything since he shouted at her.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Ahh, want to grab ice cream?”

“Adrien, we just ate!” she laughed. “You’re insatiable!”

He did his best kitten eyes. She scrunched her nose up.

“Fine. But let me put my bag down and grab a coat, it’s getting colder.”

“Yes!”

They went up in the elevator together, and split off into their respective rooms. Adrien quickly grabbed a jacket and headed to the hallway to wait.

And wait.

After five minutes he knocked. “Mari? You there?”

He heard a yelp and a crash and then the door opened.

“Adrien! Oh my god I’m sorry I didn’t realize how long it had been. I got a coat and went to the bathroom but then I saw my hair and it was messed up so I had to fix it. And then my hair tie broke, and I knocked over the lamp and- I’m rambling. Just- sorry.” She finished.

“Wow.”

“I know, you hate me. I’m a mess.” Marinette buried her face in her hands.

Adrien laughed and grabbed her hands away. “No, I was thinking how impressive your lung capacity is to say all that without a breath. You should be an Olympic swimmer!”

Marinette smiled, looking relieved. “Yeah, I have a tendency to ramble.”

“I like it,” Adrien said. “It’s cute.” He pinked, and realized he was still holding her hands. “Umm, so are you ready to go?”

“Finally, yes.” Marinette looked down at their clasped hands, and let them go. Adrien felt disappointed.

But a second later after grabbing her purse, she took his hand again.

He smiled, holding her smaller hand a bit tighter.

“So where are we going again?”

“Dickie Dee’s. I saw it when we were walking back, it’s literally around the block.” Adrien replied as they made their way to the elevators, hands interlocked.

Adrien knew he was oblivious, but as his heart raced at holding her hand, he was starting to realize he just might have a crush on Marinette.

* * *

Marinette groaned.

“That was so good, but I feel like my stomach is going to explode.”

Adrien shot her a sly grin. “Wanna help it digest?”

He nodded towards the street musician who was playing for a small crowd of dancing passersby.

“No… are you serious?”

“Hey it could be fun! Not like we’re ever going to see any of these people again, why not embarrass ourselves?”

He stood up from the bench and held out a hand.

Marinette let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine, if you wanna ruin your pretty boy feet with my stomping it’s not my fault. I warned you.”

He just laughed and pulled her over to the cluster of couples. Twirling her close to him, he dipped her.

A startled scream escaped her, and she clutched him tightly. He placed her back on her feet, and she started jumping up and down awkwardly in the one dance move she knew.

He grinned down at her antics and she stuck out her tongue at him. An evil look came into his eyes.

He grabbed her again and dipped her down, so low she felt her hair brush the ground.

“Stop, stop!” She huffed out between laughter. “I’m gonna fall!”

“Fine.” He said, and twirled her around.

They jumped around and generally acted like idiots for a little longer before they both got tired. After dropping some money in the man’s hat, they walked back to the hotel, breathless and doubled up from laughter.

Somehow they managed to make it up to their rooms without being yelled at for disturbing the peace.

Parting at their doors, Marinette got up her courage to give Adrien a quick peck on the cheek.

“Thanks for dancing with me kitty. We make good dance partners.”

She turned around and slipped into her room, beaming at the mirror in front of her about the stunned look she’d seen on his face. Maybe her attempted-to-be-forgotten crush wasn’t hopeless after all. And, she thought, really, it wasn’t bad to want to be a friend and do a little flirting at the same time. Plus, he certainly didn’t seem to hate it! If she wasn’t imagining it, he had even reciprocated a little.

* * *

In the room next door, Adrien couldn’t stop smiling. She’d kissed him! On the cheek, mind you, but still.

Sometime when they were out, he had realized he liked her. He may have been stunted from his home-schooled childhood, but when he felt a flutter in his chest at the sight of her trying to eat her ice cream without spilling it everywhere, and when he got way too close to her while they were dancing, he couldn’t deny it. He was falling for her, this girl he had just met but felt like he had known forever.

His sense of time was clearly a little wonky. He may have felt the two days he’d known Marinette to be forever, but the next four days seemed to fly by.

His mornings and nights were filled with photo shoots, but all the rest was filled with Marinette. Whenever she could leave work, they’d spend time together.

They had managed to spend a lot of time together, and explore all of Athens.

They had gone to the Acropolis, where Adrien convinced Marinette it was a good idea to adopt the two cats they’d found hiding behind the bushes.

“Look at them!” He’d said. “They’re so cute! And my father can easily pay to send them to Paris. Please, just help me bring them to a vet for now.” And she hadn’t refused. He liked to think that if half of it was the cuteness of the small ginger kitten- who they’d named Tikki- and the bigger black cat with the scratched ear- who they’d named Plagg, then the other half was his doing with his kitten eyes.

They’d visited almost all the gyro places in Athens.

Of course, they had had to make a rankings list. Things got dangerous when they couldn’t agree whether Kostas or O Kostas made better gyros, but they finally agreed to put them tied as first.

They’d gone shopping for hours.

Of course, since Marinette was a fashion designer, she dragged him to all the best stores. The two of them had gotten fitted for custom sandals at Olgianna Melissinos, visited small boutiques in the alleys, and bought worry beads (komboloi in Greek, they learned) at Kombologadiko. While Adrien loved all his souvenirs bought at these stores, he had to admit his favorite was one thing Marinette absolutely hated. He had spotted it in a window and dragged her in there with him to buy it. It was a T-shirt with Greek words and their English translations on there, all under the title: It’s All Greek to Me! His love of puns couldn’t let him pass it up, and he secretly liked annoying Marinette too. It had quickly become his favorite shirt.

Which is why he had chosen to wear that shirt today, on his last day in Athens. His shoot was done, and he was leaving tomorrow, although Marinette was staying another week to finish with the boutique. She had already chided him for leaving her alone.

They had decided to finish his trip with a bang, and were climbing Mount Lycabettus at sunset, hoping to get the best possible view of Athens.

It wasn’t a long hike up, around an hour. They could have taken the funicular, but as Marinette had said, what was the point of the view if you didn’t put in the work?

Said view only got better and better as they climbed, and soon they were at the top. There was a small church there, as well as a restaurant. The church was beautiful, but the real splendor of the mountain was the full panorama of Athens, all the way from the sea to the ring of hills. The setting sun splashed reds and pinks and oranges all over the expanse of buildings, creating a beautiful picture.

“Look at that view,” Marinette murmured, walking to the stone wall that encompasses the top of the mountain.

“I am.” She turned around. Adrien was looking at her, a strange expression in his eyes.

“Very funny,” she laughed.

Adrien smiled, and just walked closer to her. He wrapped his arm around her.

“I’m serious. This is beautiful, and so are you.”

Marinette gasped.

He’d finally gotten up the courage to say something, figuring if something went wrong at least they could just pretend this whole vacation never happened. Go back to listening to Alya and Nino talk about the other as if they didn’t even know them. Over the last few days, he had found himself getting closer to her, and he knew she felt the same way. If he didn’t say anything, he would never forgive himself. And neither would Nino and Alya, who had dragged his crush out of him when they facetimed to ask about his trip and plan a welcome back dinner. When they had heard about his interest and friendship with Marinette, they had insisted she come too, Alya squealing about how ‘her girl had finally found someone, and I actually like him!’ She’d then left the room to go call Marinette and subtly see if she felt the same. Adrien was a little suspicious about what subtle meant in Alya world, especially considering that she had cackled all the way out of the room until she left the frame of the screen.

Adrien continued, feeling a little awkward at his attempt to be honest. He meant everything he said, but he didn’t know if his words were making the right impression.

“Marinette, I’m really glad I met you. You made my trip so much fun. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Marinette was smiling happily. It looked like a good sign, so he continued.

“If it’s okay with you, I want to see you again in Paris. When you get back from Athens, can we go on a date? A real one, not our lunch and dinner friend dates. And not the welcome-back dinner with Alya and Nino. Just us.”

Marinette laughed.

“Is that a no?” Adrien asked, his voice a little shaky from nerves and adrenaline.

“That’s an ‘I can’t believe I’m going to kiss you for the first time while you’re wearing a PUN shirt.’”

She stepped up to him, weaved her hands behind his neck, and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

Adrien froze for a second, and then leaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her.

The sun went down behind them, but neither of them noticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than normal, close to 5k. I hope you all liked it!
> 
> The It's All Greek To Me shirt was absolutely necessary for Adrien, and I'd been planning to put it in a story ever since I saw it in Greece. 
> 
> I'm hoping to finish this up before next week, which is AP week. Good luck to all my other fellow AP students! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr [here!](https://pipthemagnificentwrites.tumblr.com)


	4. A Pepper Grinder, a Parisian Picnic, and a Proposal

Three years later…

“Adrien!” Marinette called for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

She stood at the entrance to their apartment, the door propped open with her foot so the gap was small enough their two cats, Plagg and Tikki, couldn’t fit through.

A second after she called, she heard muffled crashing from the kitchen. Sighing, she let the door swing closed and headed in to see what sort of mess her boyfriend had made this time.

He was kneeling in front of the cabinets under the island, his head not visible.

“Mari!” He shouted, clearly unknowing of her presence. “Where are the salt and pepper grinders?”

She stayed quiet, and after a moment of silence, he pulled his head out and sat up, craning his neck to see over the counter. When he saw her standing there with her arms crossed, he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Salt and pepper grinders?” She said, a hint of disbelief creeping into her voice. “Adrien, it’s a picnic, not a five-star restaurant!” 

He rocked back on his heels and stood up, leaning forwards with those big kitten eyes he knew she couldn’t resist. 

“Why not a five-star picnic?” He wheedled. “It’s the first nice day in a while, we should enjoy it in luxury.”

She rolled her eyes, but let him go back to his overpacking and overplanning.

She secretly thought that his need to have perfect occasions came from his stunted childhood, so she couldn’t ever bring herself to stop him. So if he wanted to bring both of their huge, restaurant-style pepper and salt grinders along with them on their picnic, well, who was she to stop him?

Ten minutes later, Adrien had finally shoved all of his things into the giant picnic basket they faithfully used every time they went picnicking. (Which was a lot. They both loved being outdoors, and Paris was full of interesting corners to enjoy).

They headed out the door of their apartment building, saying a quick hello to the kids who frequented their neighborhood, and often hung out around the front steps, hoping to convince passersby to play soccer with them in the street.

It was kind of surprising that they hadn’t pestered them to play, Marinette thought. Sometimes the two of them would play, so the gang of kids would always ask them on the off chance they would. And now that she thought of it, Tomi, the leader of the group, had winked at Adrien as they were setting off. What was that about? 

She puzzled over the strange occurrence for a bit, but soon was distracted by their arrival in the park.

They were picnicking in Champ de Mars, the grassy expanse right by the Eiffel Tower. For once, perhaps because it was a Wednesday afternoon, the park wasn’t crowded. They set up the cherished picnic blanket down by a tree that had a lovely, unblemished view of the tower. Since neither of them were hungry yet, they left the picnic basket unopened.

Marinette sat with her back against the tree trunk and Adrien’s blond head in her lap as they talked. They weren’t discussing anything special, just little things, such as if that cafè they liked would reopen soon, or when they were going to visit Remi, Alya and Nino’s two year old, but moments like these made Marinette realize how much she loved Adrien.

She’d grown a lot since her college days. Alya loved to remind her of how she would pine over supermodel Adrien, imagining star filled skies and ballroom dancing, kisses under mistletoe, and millions of other cheesy scenarios.

But grown-up Marinette now knew that love wasn’t about the big gestures. (Although she did enjoy the times Adrien would whip out the Agreste name and they’d be fast-tracked into the world of wealth and prestige- so many beautiful gowns!). Love was more about the small things.

It was in the mornings she shared with Adrien, grumbling into her coffee cup as he whistled while making pancakes.

In the times he slid into bed after a late night at Gabriel and his freezing feet tangled with hers, eventually warming with the heat of her body.

In the first few times he tried to cook for her, before she had taught the boy how to actually make edible food.

In the matching ladybug and black cat onesies they had, representative of the mingled bad and good luck that had brought them together.

Marinette tangled her fingers in Adrien’s slightly curly blonde hair and hummed happily.

He cracked his eyes open and smiled blearily up at her.

“Hey bug.”

“Hey kitty.”

She leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips. He shuffled his way out of her lap and sat up.  
“Hungry?”

She shrugged. “Sure.”

Adrien crawled over to the picnic basket perched on the edge of the blanket and started pulling items out.

“Ugh!” he said, and facepalmed before turning around to face her. “Maaari…”

She smirked. “Yes?”

“Can you go grab forks from the cafe?”

Marinette couldn’t help it, she started laughing. “You-” she snorted with laughter. “You spent literally an hour packing that, how did you forget forks?!”

He pouted. “I don’t know, okay? I was busy! Maybe if you would have helped me…”

“Hey, I take offense to that! I made the dessert!”

“You wanted to! You never let me make dessert!”

She stood up, rolling her eyes. “I’m a baker’s daughter, duh. Pastries are in my blood.”

He snickered as she walked off. “And in your name.”

She snorted. When Adrien had found out that her name, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, meant one who rises to make bread, he couldn’t help himself from making puns. It was a constant source of irritation. Although, secretly, she sometimes had to restrain from laughing. Of course, she could never tell him. His head would explode. 

After grabbing a few plastic forks from the little cafè next to the park, she headed back to their spot.

Adrien had managed to set up the food by then, so she sat down and prepared to eat.

“Wait! I want to take a picture. It’s such a nice setup.”

“Good idea, can you grab one with your phone too? I’m going to post to Instagram, Alya’s been saying I need to start ‘gaining new fans’ now that I’m a ‘fashion influencer’.”

Adrien chuckled at her antics, but agreed.

“Oh, can you grind some pepper for me while I grab the camera?” Adrien asked. “I told you we would need it.”

“Sure,” Marinette said, leaning to grab it.

“Careful, don’t get it in my eyes!” Adrien teased.

She rolled her eyes at his teasing, and grabbed the pepper grinder. She was turning away when a glint caught her eye. She glanced back. A huge solitaire diamond ring sat there, having been covered by the pepper grinder previously.

Marinette froze. “Adrien?” she asked with a slightly shaky voice. At the sound of a click, she peeled her eyes away from the ring and looked up.

There he was, on one knee, grinning like a fool with the camera held up to his face.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Will you marry me?”

“You’re ridiculous, kitty,” she giggled and slid on the ring.

“Wait… is that a yes?” he asked with creased eyebrows.

“Yes, obviously!”

“Really?” Marinette burst out laughing. “Did you think I was going to say no? I’ve been in love with you since college!”

He set the camera down. “No, but it’s nerve wracking!”

Marinette pursed her lips at him, sliding the gorgeous ring on her finger. “Aww, were you scared?”

“No!” He paused. “A little anxious maybe. But I was ninety-nine percent sure you’d say yes.”

Marinette pushed aside the dishes on the blanket and crawled towards him with a glint in her eyes. “Ninety-nine percent? I suppose I had better prove to you that I…” she crawled closer. “Am.. one hundred percent… in love with you.”

She tackled him to the ground, her arms pinning his arms to ground by the wrists. His wide green eyes stared up at her as her braids tickled his face.

He smirked, enjoying having her on top of him.

“Are you suuuure? Prove it.”

So she did. Very passionately.

Their food got cold, and Adrien’s previously pristine white button-down got a little rumpled, but they didn’t care.

When they finally got up to enjoy their dinner, Adrien emphatically agreed that Marinette loved him one hundred percent. Her proof was quite good, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I really hope you liked this, because I loved writing it. 
> 
> I was going to make this longer, and include the wedding, but I am in the midst of AP week (wish me luck!) and I just wanted to get this out. My brain is not functioning at full capacity, it’s stuffed to the brim with chemistry, US history, and English, so please help me out and point out any mistakes if you see them. 
> 
> If you guys would like, I may continue this with an extra chapter of the wedding. Let me know in the comments!
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr [here!](https://pipthemagnificentwrites.tumblr.com)


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